Odds of Hanging On

There are 125 guys on the men’s PGA Tour. There are maybe another 50 guys who have a decent living for a year or two or five on other tours. And that's it. That's 175 guys a year. And each year, 20 newbies come on the scene as 20 back-aching "losers" fade away into oblivion.

The same numbers are true for the women's Tours but the money is about a third or worse for women. Their Tour unfortunately garners less interest and lower ratings, so there isn't as much prize money in the purses. There's a lack of glamor. Women on the whole generally don't love golf. Whatever the reason, we didn't make up the numbers; we're just quoting them back to you. So please don't go all Gloria Steinem on us.

Okay, so there are 175 people each year on this big blue marble who make a real living playing golf. And of the 175, only about the top 50 make more money than a modestly successful real estate broker. And their average lives on Tour are usually 5 years or so.